Babić: Our defence starts with the striker and our attack with the goalkeeper

'Our defence starts with the striker and our attack with the goalkeeper,' said UD Almería centre-back Srđan Babić during a press conference in which he explained: 'The head coach wants us to stay close together to be a defensive block who doesn't forget the attacking play.' 

 

When making an assessment of the pre-season campaign so far, which is coming to an end, Babić stated: 'The vibes are good, although the results aren't the ones we expected. We don't want to win now all the games for the sake of it, but working hard and grasping concepts, which is what's important at this point.'

 

The Serbian defender is well aware that 'the transfer window is still in full swing with transfers going on every day,' and for this reason, he pointed out: 'You never know who will be there and who won't, but I don't know about the Club's decisions. What I do have clear is that the players who are here are working well and hard.'

 

When asked about his team-mate Rodrigo Ely, he indicated: 'I don't know if he belongs to the Club or not. If he isn't going to be with us, I'll sorely miss him because we've played together for a long time. He's a great person and an excellent footballer.'

 

Regarding his personal situation, the Banja Luka native stressed: 'I have three more years in my contract and my intention is to continue here, although the transfer window is unpredictable. We'll talk in a month.'

 

The Serbian defender also reflected on his footballing career at UD Almería: 'I've changed a lot both as a player and as a person since I arrived. They welcomed me warmly and from the very first day, I felt at home. Two years have gone and I've got much more experience, above all, in Primera Division, which is totally different to Segunda Division.'

 

Moreover, the 27-year-old Rojiblanco shared his thoughts about UD Almería as a group: 'We've grown a lot over these years. After earning promotion and guaranteeing league survival, I truly hope that we don't suffer this season, securing top-flight status a few Matchdays in advance before the end. That's our main goal.' In this regard, he valued that 'with the experience we've gained, we're now prepared to compete better, especially away from home. Last campaign, we didn't do what we wanted playing as a visiting team. We played quite well at home and we fortified the Power Horse Stadium. Now we have to improve on the trips.'

 

About Saturday's last pre-season friendly, he mentioned: 'We have to begin competing a bit better against Granada CF because the start of the season is just around the corner. We want to give it our all against Rayo Vallecano to start the league on the right foot. Later, we'll go all out against Real Madrid CF too.'